Yes, your calculations are correct. This is the second paleo and vegan cheesecake recipe that I’m sharing on the blog in the span of a week – but really, can you blame me? I might not be training for marathons right now, but cheesecake marathons are another story – and SO my ballgame right now.

Last week it was lemon strawberry, and today we’re going in another direction entirely. A direction where the streets are lined with thick chewy chocolate chips cookies and paved with chocolate glaze! And the houses are made of…vanilla cheesecake and coconut whipped cream?! Okay, I’ve gone too far, let’s talk delicious details before I lose you all.

To start off, I had a decision to make regarding the bottom cookie layer – to bake or not to bake?! If I went completely no-bake, what we’d really have here is is cookie dough cheesecake, which of course would be ridiculously good, but, it wasn’t quite my vision. I wanted sort of a cookie cake topped with all the other creamy layers and chocolate, so I decided to bake the bottom layer into a thick, chewy, vegan chocolate chip cookie.

The cheesecake layer is a cashew based vanilla cheesecake, and GUYS! It turned out so delicious with just a few ingredients – cashews, refined coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and lemon juice to give it the tartness of a true cheesecake. After blending the cheesecake mixture until nice and creamy, you simply pour it over the baked cookie crust and then chill until set. Make sure you use every drop – this is NOT a dessert you’ll want to waste any part of!

Rather than freezing this cheesecake, as I did with my lemon one, I found that the texture for this one was just perfect after spending a night tightly wrapped in the back of the refrigerator. It turned out insanely creamy and ready to be topped with coconut whipped cream! I made my whipped cream in advance and kept it refrigerated overnight as well, but you can just as easily make it right on the spot and spread it over the cheesecake.

One note on coconut whipped cream – I used to recommend using either canned coconut cream OR the thick part of a chilled can of coconut milk. While it SHOULD technically be possible to use the cream from the can of coconut milk, I’ve recently had several bad experiences where it just would not blend properly into whipped cream.

I DO think there are certain brands of canned coconut milk that are better for whipping, the one that seems to work nearly every time is Thai Kitchen. You simply chill the can overnight, and then scoop out the thick part only to make the whipped cream.

If you plan to use canned coconut cream, Native Forest is the brand I use that hasn’t failed me yet. However, I do not recommend using Native Forest coconut MILK for making whipped cream – it’s let me down too many times!

Lastly, I decided to add more chocolate chips and a chocolate drizzle, because, um, why not?! The drizzle is very similar to the glaze I used for my chocolate donuts, and hardens to a nice chocolate shell on the cold cheesecake. Make sure you allow the chocolate mixture to cool before drizzling though, so you don’t accidentally melt your cheesecake. After all that work, melting your cheesecake with a too-hot drizzle would just be so, so sad!

So, to sum up, we have a paleo and vegan (baked) chocolate chip cookie layer, a creamy no-bake cashew vanilla cheesecake layer, a coconut whipped cream layer, extra chocolate chips, and an optional chocolate drizzle/shell. I really hope you’re with me because I know you’re going to love this one! Just in time for Mother’s Day, right?! A whole chocolate chip cookie vanilla cheesecake just for you, just because. I’ll be right there with you 😉

For the Chocolate Glaze**

Instructions

First, make the chocolate chip cookie layer:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8” springform pan with parchment just on the bottom, or line a regular 8 inch pan with parchment on the bottom and sides

Whisk together the almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, and vanilla until very smooth. Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the wet and stir until a dough forms. Chill the dough if very sticky for about 5 minutes, then stir in 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips.

Press into the bottom of the pan, then add the remaining chocolate chips on top and press in. bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes (place the pan on a baking sheet in case of leaking if you’re using a springform pan) or until center is just barely set. To keep the crust chewy it's essential not to over-bake (under-baking just a bit is okay, since the cake will be stored chilled)

After removing from oven, cool on wire rack in the pan.

To Make the Cheesecake:

While the cookie layer cools, make the vanilla cheesecake layer. Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender or food processor, and process/blend on high for several minutes, scraping the sides as needed, until a thick creamy mixture forms.

Pour the cashew mixture over the cooled crust (or mostly cooled) and scrape the sides of the blender to use up all of it. Now it's time for the cake to set. If you are in a hurry, you can set the cake in the freezer by covering and freezing for about 2 hours. To serve, allow the cake to thaw in the fridge for a nice creamy consistency.

You can also set the cake in the refrigerator overnight - simply cover and place in the back of your refrigerator and wake up to a perfectly creamy cheesecake!

Now for the toppings:

To make the whipped cream, use an electric mixer to beat the cold coconut cream until smooth and creamy, then add the maple and vanilla and beat until well combined. Spread over the chilled cheesecake before serving, top with more chocolate chips if desired.

To Make the Glaze:

Melt coconut oil over very low heat, then immediately whisk in cacao and maple until a shiny glaze forms, remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Allow to cool to room temp before drizzling. Glaze will harden after being drizzled on the cold cheesecake.

***Storing Notes

Recipe Notes

*I used refined to avoid the coconut flavor that extra virgin has**The glaze is entirely optional and makes it extra rich. In place of coconut oil, you can also use palm oil shortening***Prior to topping, cheesecake can be stored in the freezer before being thawed in the refrigerator for several hours for a creamy texture. You can also store it covered in the refrigerator. After topping, it should be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator (preferably the back.)

What I Used To Make My Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Cheesecake:

Want more Paleo & Vegan dessert Recipes? Try one of these!

Tell Me!

What’s the last think you ate involving chocolate?

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!

You Might Also Like...

About Michele

More than a little into running and paleo recipes (yoga now too!) but I'm not here to rain on your grains (or anything else) so come along for the ride! I do a little too much of everything (except cleaning), and I enjoy laughing at myself. As long as I'm the one making the jokes, that is. Just kidding. So bring me your angst, your appetite and your frying pan and climb aboard!

Reader Interactions

Reader Reviews & Comments

Ok so this is absolute genius! I’d never think of making a giant cookie base for a cheesecake, but now I don’t think I ever want a regular cracker or biscuit base again, haha! Thanks for the great idea 🙂

Hi! I’m not sure the exact calories, however here is a good online nutrition calculator that let’s you calculate stats for a recipe: https://www.verywell.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4129594 Even though this is a paleo and vegan dessert, if your goal is weight loss I would think eating this every day wouldn’t be the way to go, since it’s still an indulgence.

Hi, I love your recipes and am excited to try them. However, I recently found out that I’m allergic to coconut and eggs(although eggs aren’t in this recipe yeah). My question was would you have an idea what I could sub for the coconut flour? I’m wondering if I could sub organic palm shortening for the coconut oil? I don’t expect you to know all or do all substitutions but I thought I might ask just incase you had any suggestions and could save me time. Thanks in advance.

You can use all almond flour for the cookie recipe I think, though it hasn’t been tested, I think using a total of 1 and 1/3 cup should do it, at least that would be my guess if I were to try it! And using palm shortening for the middle layer and drizzle should definitely work as well, in fact for the drizzle it actually works better 🙂

This is the best “cheesecake” ever!!! Ever since going dairy free and can’t have cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory I’ve been deprived of cheesecake! Well this is by far better then ” real ” cheesecake and less calories so I cake eat the whole thing in one sitting;)thank you for the great recipe

Any suggestions for substitution the cashews? This sounds delicious, but I have a 4 year old deathly allergic to cashews, and I won’t be able to hold her back from this! (Obvious answer is don’t make it, but it sounds so tasty!)

[…] NOTES *I used refined to avoid the coconut flavor that extra virgin has **The glaze is entirely optional and makes it extra rich. In place of coconut oil, you can also use palm oil shortening ***Prior to topping, cheesecake can be stored in the freezer before being thawed in the refrigerator for several hours for a creamy texture. You can also store it covered in the refrigerator. After topping, it should be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator (preferably the back.) Serves: 8″ cake source […]

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi! I’m so happy you stopped by! My name is Michele and I’m a Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, mom of 3, and the gal behind Paleo Running Momma! Over here you’ll find real-food, clean eating family favorites that you’ll be excited to share with your loved ones. I hope you stay awhile, eat, savor, and enjoy!